


The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Multiverse

by TheStarrySkiesOfPalaven



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dimension Travel, F/F, Time Travel, Two dorks in love travelling through universes, Very likely Crossovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2016-05-11
Packaged: 2018-05-07 23:09:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5473952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheStarrySkiesOfPalaven/pseuds/TheStarrySkiesOfPalaven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"About four months after that fateful Friday, Max Caulfield passes out one morning only to wake up with her powers back... more powerful than ever."<br/>Set in an alternate ending to Life is Strange; Max saved both Chloe and the town.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well... *clears throat* This is my first time posting anything here, so I hope I did everything right with the formatting and stuff. *sweats nervously*  
> I intend this to be a conceivably endless series of one-shots, each set in some alternate universe which our two heroines visit. I'm not a very fast or inspired writer, but I have completed this first chapter and the second one. I hope to steadily continue writing, as this is also the first time I've tried doing anything multi-chaptered!  
> Also... a fair warning that I'm not too sure in my relationship-writing skills, so if you have any advice, it would be very welcome.  
> I hope you enjoy reading. <3

Max was slowly becoming aware again. She opened her eyes, trying to get her bearings after being unconscious for who knows how long. She was lying down... on... oh! She could recognize Captain Chloe’s fearsome pirate ship, err... the Prices’ living room couch anywhere. Looking around, she saw an outline pacing near the bed, and soon recognized her favorite blue-haired punk; her dearest Chloe. She tried to get up, but could only groan tiredly.

Her groan got Chloe’s attention. She immediately stopped her pacing, and hurried to Max’s side.

“Holy shit, Max... you hella scared me for a bit there.” Chloe said, voice trembling slightly.

“Wh-What... happened?” Max asked, barely getting the words out.

“I don’t know! I just went to get the bacon from the fridge and then I turned around and you were collapsing on the floor with your nose gushing blood, I... Shit, I thought after... the nosebleed and fainting again and... What happened?”

Max tried to get up again, but that only worsened her disorientation. Lying down again, she tried to recall the events before she fainted.

“It was like... I don’t know; All of a sudden I couldn’t focus, then... Everything split and blurred and re-focused over and over, and it was like looking into so many overlapping images and they were all so _vivid_ and I felt them _all_ as if I knew every single one of them intimately in that one moment... right before I fainted.”

Chloe’s look of concern deepened. She leaned forward, running her right hand along Max’s forehead, and then started gently stroking her hair.

“So it was, like... an overload or something? Like with your rewinding?”

Max sighed. “It seems so...” she closed her eyes for a moment, before letting out another groan, this time of frustration. “Ugh... I thought I was done with all this supernatural bullshit!”

Chloe leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. “Hey... don’t worry, Super Max.” she grinned. “You’ll get through whatever this new crap is. Your faithful sidekick is here to help you with that!”

Max replied with a weak smile. “Heh... thanks for the vote of confidence, Chloe.”

Chloe gave Max another gentle kiss, this time on the lips, and started getting up. “Always.” She whispered.

A few minutes passed before Max felt well enough to sit up. Meanwhile, Chloe finished making the breakfast they had started after Joyce went to take an early shift at the diner. The sound of sizzling bacon and eggs was... surprisingly soothing.

Soon, Chloe came over and put the filled plates on the table.

“Hey, Mad Max? Do you hear that?” Chloe cupped one ear with a hand. “I think I hear someone calling you. They’re saying: ‘Please, oh hella awesome Time Goddess, munch on us and our companions to replenish your strength. Our bacon-y goodness is great for you!’”

Max got up from the couch, snorting and giggling all the while. “You dork...” She hugged Chloe and kissed her cheek. “Thanks.”

They ate in comfortable silence.

After finishing their meal, they got up and put the dishes back in the sink. They went outside to get more fresh air, and sat on the swing. After a minute, Chloe decided to address the elephant in the room.

“Okay... we know that your time powers kinda poofed out after pulling that insanely epic stunt with the storm, right?” Chloe said.

Max nodded. The memory of October 11th 2013 was still fresh after four months. Perhaps it always would be.

_Heavy rain pouring down, the sky murky, the huge storm descending down upon Arcadia Bay._

_And two young women standing next to a lighthouse; one resigned, one disbelieving._

_Both desperate._

_But one of them... one Max Caulfield... she was tired._

_So, so tired._

_And, as Chloe Price finished her speech, something inside her-something fundamental-snapped._

_She was NOT taking the universe’s_ bullshit  _anymore._

_Looking up at Chloe with a look of unyielding determination and love, she replied._

_“Yes, Chloe. I will. I’m going to make the only choice that exists.” Max’s voice was completely and utterly immovable._

_With that, she launched herself at Chloe, kissing her with such gentleness and such ferocity and such desperation; trying to convey the torrent of emotions that was going through her. Chloe kissed her back with just as much intensity, wrapping her arms around Max tightly. Soon, though, they reluctantly separated. Panting slightly, they gazed at each other for a moment._

_And then Max, wearing a serene smile, tore the butterfly photo into tiny shreds, tossing them into the air and letting them scatter on the howling winds._

_As Chloe’s face slowly morphed from tired resignation into disbelief and amazement, Max turned around and walked to the cliff edge, steeling herself. The incandescent primal fury that had been building in her from the moment Chloe asked her to go back and let her die started massing more quickly. Her breathing picked up; her chest started heaving. She gritted her teeth and glared at the massive storm with the fiery rage of countless stars, slowly raising her right hand towards the vortex._

_As her fury reached a crescendo, her angry tears mixing with the heavy rain, she snarled and screamed out a sentence that rattled the multiverse to its core._

_“YOU. CAN’T. **HAVE.**_ **HER!** _"  
_

_Reaching deep inside herself, where she thought her temporal power was... she_ unleashed _, desperately trying to achieve_ something _. She didn’t know what; the only thing she knew was that this piece of supernatural_ crap _was_ NOT _going to take Chloe away!_

_Then, it happened. The storm went out not with a bang, but with a whimper. An almost silent unearthly sound was heard as Max’s powers (unknowingly to her) ascended to the next level, tearing the fabric of space-time apart and sending the storm to a barren alternate universe._

_In the stillness that ensued, Max Caulfield collapsed; completely spent. Her head was pounding like it was being struck with a sledgehammer every second, and her nose was streaming blood. The last thing she heard before falling unconscious was Chloe’s panicked voice yelling her name._

Max shook her head to clear the memory. She tried to calm the shivering. Chloe reached out to wrap an arm around her shoulder; Max gladly accepted the silent comfort.

“Yeah... although now I’m wondering if they ever actually went away. Did I just exhaust them and they were recharging or something?” Max said.

Chloe stared down at the ground contemplatively. “Who knows, Maxaroni...” she turned back towards Max. “Can you try using them?”

Max nodded once, and took a deep breath. She raised her right hand and searched for that familiar feeling.

It came.

It came so easily Max was dumbstruck.

No headache. No pain. Nothing but an incredibly smooth feeling of time flowing backwards.

Acting on some instinct, she shifted her intentions.

Time stopped completely. _So easily_. Still no killer headache, like the last time she did that.

Max looked over at Chloe, frozen in time, her lips starting to form her last question. She reached out to touch her.

And when her hand came into contact with Chloe’s shoulder, Chloe _started moving_.

“-o knows, Maxaro- hm?” Chloe’s question jerked to a halt when she suddenly felt Max’s hand on her. She looked over and saw Max with a look that was part amazement, and part shock.

“Hey, what’s up?“ Chloe asked, taking the hand that was on her shoulder into her own. “Why are you suddenly looking all bamboozled and shit, Max?”

Max opened and closed her mouth a few times, but said nothing. Then, after looking around, she pointed towards the fence. Chloe turned around and saw a bird above it.

‘ _So?_ ’ Chloe wondered. ‘ _It’s just a bird... that’s..._ ’ her thoughts trailed off as she understood what she was seeing.

It was a bird, alright. A bird in flight.

A bird _frozen_ in flight.

In fact, as Chloe looked around, everything seemed to be frozen. Everything except Max and her.

Turning back to Max, her own eyes as wide as saucers, she tried to say something.

She failed.

A few seconds passed (or what would have passed for ‘a few seconds’ if time weren’t standing still) before Max stopped channeling her power. The flow of time resumed as if nothing ever happened. The rush of sound that Chloe didn’t realize was absent before was almost deafening.

Silence reigned.

Max broke it after half a minute.

“Wowser.” she whispered.

Chloe could do nothing else but burst into laughter, falling off of the swing.

Max joined her almost immediately, giggling and collapsing on the grass next to Chloe.

* * *

They spent some more time outside, hoping to relax before attempting to tackle this new mystery. Soon they found themselves back in Chloe’s room, sitting on the bed.

“This is _so_ weird, Chloe.” Max began. “You know about the headaches and the nosebleeds I’d get when I kept using them, but... nothing. I felt nothing this time. They just... listened. And did what I wanted.” she shook her head, trying to make sense of this. “And that’s not all! The only time I ever actually _froze_ time was...” she took a shuddering breath.”...you know.”

Chloe nodded, thinking of that day; the day when poor Kate was driven onto the roof of the Blackwell girls’ dorm, trying to escape the living nightmare her life had become. Without Max’s powers suddenly deciding to stop time altogether, Max wouldn’t have made it up there to talk to Kate and convince her not to jump.

Chloe scooted over and hugged Max. “Hey... Kate’s alright, remember?” she squeezed a bit tighter. “Thanks to you, Mad Max.”

Max nodded silently. Thinking about that whole week in October was difficult at the best of times, but... what with her powers emerging again from the proverbial hole they escaped to, she didn’t have much choice.

Chloe suddenly grinned widely. “Soooo... Have Kate’s sisters stopped calling you Angel instead of Max, yet?”

Max’s somber mood evaporated a bit as she immediately groaned in exasperation. “No... and no matter how much I try to get Kate to stop them, she refuses; in fact, she enjoys teasing me about it every time we talk about them!” she put her face in her hands.

Chloe tried to muffle her laughter, with limited success. Ever since Max saved Kate, Lynn and Marian began calling Max ‘Angel’ instead of her actual name. In all their calls and letters to Kate, Max wasn’t referred to by anything else. When Max told Chloe about it, she couldn’t stop laughing for ten minutes at Max’s embarrassment.

“Well, I can’t blame them, really...” she winked at Max.

Max looked over at her, practically pleading. The effect was slightly ruined by her blush. “Not you too, Chloe!”

Chloe smiled even wider. “No worries, you nerd! I think I’m covered on the embarrassing nicknames front, Maxipad.”

Max breathed a sigh of relief, leaning over to kiss Chloe. “Thanks for being oh _so_ benevolent...” she smiled as they lay down on the bed to cuddle.

“Anyway... your powers aren’t causing you problems anymore, hm?”

Max nodded. “It’s so... I guess I could call it smooth. There’s no trouble at all, just... they listen, with no side effects.”

“So what do you think happened earlier? Was it just an overload because they returned? You mentioned seeing some fucked up jumble of images... overlapping?”

“It was... ugh.” Max groaned again. “It’s hard to describe, but I felt as if I saw... possibilities. Every single one. I saw the kitchen in so many different ways and states that I get dizzy just thinking about it.”

Chloe’s eyebrows went up. “Don’t tell me that your hella time powers now extend to seeing alternate universes.”

Max stopped to think about it, then shrugged helplessly. “It’s... possible? Oops?”

Chloe shook her head, chuckling. “That’s so awesome! I’m going to have to start calling you Super Max by default, you know? Hah! Next thing you know, your powers will let you actually travel to those alternate universes!”

Max started giggling at the thought, but abruptly stopped when she felt a nagging little thought in the back of her mind.

It wasn’t a clear, concise thought. Just... something instinctual. She let a part of her loose and the images appeared again. She reached out with her hand towards a random one, and... _selected_ it, for lack of a better word. It was an image of Chloe’s room, but... it had minor differences. Curious, she leaned towards it a bit to get a closer look.

Chloe looked over at Max when she heard her suddenly go quiet. Max had her right hand outstretched, making a grabbing gesture. Her face had a slightly vacant, yet concentrated look. Chloe’s worry amped up quickly as Max got up, and she started genuinely panicking when Max started walking forward and began to _disappear_. She quickly jumped up and grabbed Max by the shoulders, shaking her a bit.

“Max! MAX! Stop!” Chloe yelled.

That seemed to shake Max from whatever stupor she was in. Her hand dropped and she looked around dazed and confused.

“Huh...?” she blinked rapidly.

“You... you... you started disappearing, Max!” Chloe’s voice was incredibly relieved, but still had traces of panic.

Max just kept blinking. “I... did? But I just... grabbed one of those images... and went to take a closer look...”

Chloe furrowed her brow, thinking hard for a few seconds. Then she facepalmed and groaned.

“I had to open my big fucking mouth...”

Max was confused, until she recalled their conversation from earlier. Her eyes widened. “Wait, you think that I was actually starting to cross over into an alternate universe?!”

They stood in silence for a while, trying to absorb these new revelations. Then Chloe smiled again, and said. “You know... I was kidding earlier about you being a Goddess and stuff. And then you had to go and develop _actual_ godlike powers. Typical fucking Max Caulfield.”

Max sighed. “Chloe, if you start calling me ‘Goddess Maxine’ or some other bullshit like that I’m going to hit you.”

“Only if you can catch me, short stuff.”

“Time powers, you dork. Remember?”

Chloe’s face turned sheepish. “Oh... right.”

* * *

A few days later, Max and Chloe were having lunch at the Two Whales. The bustling diner was almost full, yet it always felt... homey. That could mostly be attributed to Joyce, of course. She was a force of nature when she wanted to be. It was a good atmosphere to talk in.

Which was great; because in the past few days, Max had an idea. It was crazy, a bit exciting, and a whole lot dangerous if things went horribly wrong, but she wanted to discuss it with Chloe.

As they were finishing their meal, Max started talking.

“Okay, Chloe... I did some experimenting back in my dorm room last night.”

Chloe raised an eyebrow, chewing on the last bite of waffles. After swallowing, she smiled mischievously and replied. “I hope you’re not too sore.”

Max sputtered, taken aback. “NO! You... you... ugh! You’re the worst.”

Chloe’s only answer was a smug grin. “Hey, you’re the one who’s easy to tease, not me.”

Shaking her head in fond exasperation, Max continued. “In any case, I did some experimenting with the travelling part of my powers, and... well, I had a thought, and it turns out I can actually see any period of time, as well as any _place_ I want in that universe as well.”

Both of Chloe’s eyebrows rose this time. “You _do_ realize that you’re making it really hard not to make Goddess jokes, right Max?”

Rolling her eyes, Max started again. “Anyway... this came to me last night. I know we’ve talked about leaving Arcadia Bay to go anywhere else in the country, maybe a road trip or something, right? So...” she trailed off, becoming slightly nervous.

Chloe took her hands into her own, squeezing them comfortingly. “Yeah, we did. Why, do you have any concrete ideas for where we can go?”

Max laughed lightly. “Funnily enough, yes.”

Chloe waited, but no answer was forthcoming. “Soooo... you gonna tell me, or am I gonna have to tickle it out of you, nerd?”

“It’s just... well... a bit out there.”

“Can’t be weirder than anything else we’ve seen.”

Max bit her lip, before blurting out quickly. “Iwantustotravelthroughalternateuniverses.”

Chloe blinked. “Um, I didn’t really catch that.”

Taking a deep breath, Max said. “I want us to travel through alternate universes. You know... instead of a cross-country road trip, it would be a... cross-universal trip?” she shrugged.

Chloe could only stare at Max with her mouth open.

Max shifted nervously. “I know it’s kinda crazy but I wanted to use these... powers or whatever for... us. For something good. To do something special for the two of us. I don’t want to only have memories of them as something awful that was foisted upon me in October. A-And I know that alternate universes can be an incredibly messy business, trust me I know, and that we could get into horrible ones but also great ones and I don’t really care because I want to share in this, these powers, together with you for good or ill and what I mean to say is... Chloe, will you trek across the multiverse with me?” she finished her rambling, catching her breath.

Chloe still stared at Max. After a while, she blinked and started talking. “Okay, Super Max... One: That sounds like the most hella fucking amazing idea I’ve ever heard in my life and I love you more than I already do for thinking of it.” she frowned slightly. “Do you... really think you can take me with you?”

“If my time powers can exempt you when I’m touching you... I don’t see why not.” Max replied.

Chloe nodded contemplatively. Then she looked at Max and smiled again.

“Alright... Two: Hella yes I’m coming with you! I should tickle you into submission for even thinking I’d say no!” she leaned over to kiss Max once, before smirking. “Oh, and Three: Did you just propose to me in a roundabout way?”

It took a while for Max’s blush to subside.

* * *

A week later, they had most of their stuff prepared. After telling Joyce, as well as calling Ryan and Vanessa, that they were ‘taking a trip’ to ‘see the world’, they started packing bare necessities. They had no guarantee of finding ‘good’ universes, after all, and their backpacks had enough supplies to last them a while.

After deeming themselves as ready as they could possibly be, they went up to the lighthouse... It seemed kind of fitting to begin their new journey where their old one ended.

They basked in the sunset for a while, standing near a familiar cliff; the place they where they looked at a supernatural mega-storm in despair not too long ago.

Looking at each other lovingly, they intertwined their hands and started walking. They said quiet goodbyes to their universe... for now. Max’s hand reached out and grabbed a random ‘image’, holding it open for the both of them.

With that, Max Caulfield and Chloe Price went on a new adventure; just the two of them.

They knew it would be one to remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The name of Kate's second sister is never stated, so I gave her the name Marian. Hey, Marian Marsh rolls off the tongue so well!  
> Now... is this fic self-indulgent wish-fulfillment? Yes, yes it is. :p  
> How was it? Bad? Average? Good? Feedback would be highly appreciated! I also have a [tumblr](http://thestarryskiesofpalaven.tumblr.com) with the same username, if you wish to talk there.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting off with a simple alternate universe, containing some Amberpricefield goodness. \o/  
> Rachel... is a tough character to do justice, since a very large portion of what we know of her from the game was through other people's perceptions of her. I hope I managed to do alright, even if it's not much.  
> Enjoy! <3  
> P.S.: Attempting to differentiate two characters who are the same person when they're talking is HELL. I really hope I conveyed who is who well. x.x

The ‘trip’ wasn’t as bad as they thought it would be. It was like walking through a thin layer of something ethereal.

Getting their bearings, Max and Chloe looked around to find themselves in... the middle of Chloe’s room.

“My room? Really?” Chloe said, shivering slightly despite the apparent heating.

‘ _Must be winter_.’ she thought.

“Well... that’s both a relief and a letdown. You should get a refund on your RNG, Mad Max.” Chloe looked around the first half of the room; there were small differences, but it looked mostly the same.

“Not all differences can be world-shaking, Chloe...” Max said with a teasing smile. “What if this was just a universe where you sneezed to the left instead of right one time?”

Chloe smiled back. “Who knows... all I can say is that this place is pretty similar. Cleaner, though... And it has a better TV!”

Max looked around, noticing too that the TV was a larger, HD one. Despite the room being relatively neat, the floor in front of the TV was littered with the remains of snacks; it seemed this Chloe and whoever she had over last night had fun watching something.

Chloe turned around to look at the rest of the room, and froze like a deer in the headlights.

Staring at her and her Max from the bed was a Chloe Price.

As well as a Max Caulfield. A _pink-haired_ Max Caulfield.

And a _Rachel Amber_.

With her gaze locked with the three dumbstruck people in the bed, Chloe reached out with her left hand to her Max, tugging at her sleeve.

“Uh... Max? We’re kinda busted.”

Max turned to Chloe questioningly, seeing her looking at the back of the room. She turned as well, seeing the three women in the bed gazing at the two of them in wonder.

The silence lasted for a few seconds before Max’s hand went for her Chloe, and raised her other to freeze time.

Max heaved a large sigh. “Oh, Chloe... what are we going to do? I guess I could rewind and everything, but...”

Chloe looked just as conflicted. “I know what you mean. We’re doing all this to experience these new alternate universes, and... that includes interacting with the people in them, doesn’t it? For better or worse?”

Max let out a weak laugh. “Exactly. You know... It’s one thing to know that I’ll affect myself like this with my powers, but other people... you have no idea how many times that went through my head back in October.”

Chloe hugged Max tightly. “Hey, don’t worry your nerdy little head about it, Maximus. We’re here, right now, and we’re making new experiences together. And we always will. That’s what matters, right?”

Max smiled against Chloe’s neck, sighing. “Yeah...” she straightened and leaned up to kiss Chloe. “I love you, you mushy dork.”

Chloe put up an indignant expression, scoffing. “Me? Mushy? As if! I’m hella hardcore! How rude...” she then proved her obvious lack of mushiness by kissing Max’s hand gently and saying with a soft smile “I love you too...” Then she grinned mischievously.  “In fact, I completely adore you, oh wise Godde-“

“Chloe!”

Chloe just kept grinning.

Max huffed and grumbled. “You’re going to keep that up forever, aren’t you?”

A cheerful nod was her only answer.

Chloe sobered up a bit when she glanced over at the three frozen bedmates. She looked at Max and asked “So... ready for a hella fucking weird Q&A session?”

“Heh... as ready as one ever is when talking to their alternate self.” Max then grimaced. “Which is not at all, by the way.”

“Go with the flow?”

“Aye-aye, Captain.”

With that, Max stopped channeling her power, letting time flow once again.

She took a deep breath, letting it out in a gust. “Um... sorry to barge in on you like that.”

They only blinked. Then both Max and Chloe turned towards Rachel and glared. She gave them both a sheepish grin.

“Really, Rach? Really?” Max said incredulously.

Rachel facepalmed. Shaking her head, she addressed the two highly confused universe-trekkers. “Sorry, but... these two sci-fi nerds here were spending their time trying to convince me of something and... well...” she started to blush.

Chloe in the bed rolled her eyes and said “What she wants to say is that Maxie and I were trying to convince this heretic that time isn’t linear and that Chaos Theory is right. Then she said, and I quote: ‘Well, if you’re so certain, as you say, I’m sure your so-called parallel universes will prove it to me right now... right?’ And... well, you can guess the rest.” she shook her head.

The two travelers blinked, then burst into simultaneous laughter; collapsing on the floor.

After a minute, they started calming down. They could hear Rachel mutter ‘I’m never living this down, am I?’, and a cheerful ‘Nope!’ from the others.

Soon enough, they sat on the bed as well.

“Again, sorry to barge in on your... cuddling?” Chloe said.

She received bashful nods from the three, which caused her to smile, perhaps a bit sadly. “Glad you three are happy.” she suddenly shook her head. “Sorry, I’m still adjusting to actually talking to Rach and... well, another me. Hella weird.”

“You can say that again.” said the other Chloe. Then she frowned. “Wait, why would it be weird to talk to Rach? Are you not close where you’re from?”

The only response was Chloe and Max’s looks of sorrow.

The three women’s faces fell as they understood. They immediately got up and hugged Max and Chloe tightly, trying to provide any comfort they could.

Pink-haired Max broke the silence. “Well, your universe sucks.”

This drew a few slight chuckles from the two. “It wasn’t _too_ terrible.” Max said.

Everyone sat on the bed, making themselves comfortable. Rachel decided to start.

“So... um, what brings you here to our little corner?” she said, her chin resting on her hand.

Max and Chloe shrugged. “Taking a _long_ vacation. Ours is not the happiest of stories...” Chloe said. “But we made it.”

Max snorted lightly. “Yeah... I mean, it’s not every day you find out you have time-altering powers while trying to save your BFF from being shot.” She sighed. “Not that I realized it was Chloe at the time...”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Are you _still_ hung up on that? Dude, five years had passed! We both changed.”

Max shot her a small smile. “Anyway... it was just the beginning of an insane week...”

The other Chloe held up a hand to interrupt. “Wait...  sorry, but what do you mean by ‘five years had passed’? Are... are you telling us that you hadn’t seen each other in _five years_?”

They both nodded. Other Chloe and Max were befuddled. “Why?! What happened?” Chloe asked.

Max raised an eyebrow. “I take it that hasn’t happened here?” Seeing them shaking their heads, she nodded. Looking at her Chloe for permission, and getting it, she continued. “My parents moved away to Seattle, taking me with them after... after William died.”

A beat of stunned silence. Then Other Max and Rachel put their arms around their Chloe; Max reiterated her previous statement. “Your universe fucking _sucks_.” she shuddered.

Other Chloe swallowed thickly, then asked her girlfriends, “Remind me to make up an extra lame pun for dad later, alright? And to ask mom to make pancakes.”

Chloe smiled sadly. “Is he still the pungeon master I knew?”

“Hah!” Rachel scoffed lightly. “He’s become even worse in the past two years...”

Max decided to get back on track, for Chloe’s sake... even if Chloe had already made peace with everything, it wasn’t easy hearing this; Max could tell. “Anyway... After that, I was a 100% Grade A asshole and let my fears rule me. I... didn’t contact Chloe for the entirety of those five years.”

“Maxaroni... I already forgave you a long time ago. And you’re perfectly aware that I could’ve called as well, so don’t you dare try and hoard the blame all for yourself again!”

Max looked ready to disagree, but relented. This wasn’t really the best time to argue about this again. She hugged Chloe briefly and sighed, giving her a peck on the cheek. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too. I love you, Super Max.” Chloe said as she returned the hug. “Now, the story begins with me owing some major cash to a drug dealer, and thinking it was a good idea to try and extort it from a mentally unstable rich kid who roofied me and took creepy pictures...”

* * *

They told them the basics of what happened. The bathroom... Max discovering her powers... their reunion and subsequent investigation into Rachel’s disappearance... and the barest of details about the Dark Room.

Rachel, Max, and Chloe were horrified to hear about Jefferson, one of Arcadia Bay’s most famous photographers who happened to have died years ago in a car accident, being a deranged psychopath in the other universe. They seriously wondered if they dodged a bullet with his death here.

They were in awe when they were told of the lengths Max went to to try and save everything, and that awe only increased when Chloe recited the, in her words, ‘Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny where Time Goddess Max got hella pissed off and decided to make the universe her bitch’... Much to Max’s consternation if her massive blush was anything to judge by.

Next, Max explained about her passing out one day after several months, and waking up with her powers back and stronger than ever.

“... and then I had the idea of using my newly awakened powers to take a good long break with Chloe, as well as see everything the universes have to offer. So... here we are.” Max finished. She grinned, “This is our first stop, actually.”

Shaking her head slightly, Other Max whispered “Wowser. It’s like something from a fantasy novel.” She smiled at her counterpart. “Thanks for sharing.” She looked down at her own perfectly mundane hand, and then took Max’s hand with it. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry you two had to go through all that.”

She received thankful smiles from them.

Chloe then leaned forward, curious. “What about you three? What’s your story?” she asked.

“Nothing as exciting, I assure you.” Other Chloe said.

Rachel nodded. “Yeah... it mostly consists of me befriending these two losers about three years ago, getting into some positively insane shenanigans with them, and watching in agony as they danced around their feelings for each other.” she grinned at her girlfriends.

She received eye-rolls for her statements. “Please... you’re one to talk! After we got together, we literally had to tie you up on the bed to get you to listen to us when we wanted to tell you that no, you weren’t a fucking third wheel EVER, yes, we figured out you loved us, and yes, we both reciprocated.” Max said pointedly.

Rachel blushed lightly. “Hey, I’m a Leo. Stubbornness is my middle name.” she said. “And you can’t really blame me; you two are childhood best friends in love, Pisces and Virgo, a match made in heaven! I didn’t really think...”

“That’s right, you didn’t _think_. Dork.” Other Max said as she and her Chloe hugged Rachel. “We’re a team, Rach; the three of us. And we always will be. We love you.”

Rachel shook her head fondly and sighed. “I know, I know...” she smiled. “Sorry.”

“Well... I, for one, don’t mind our methods of reminding her that she’s loved. At all.” Other Chloe said to the two universe-trekkers, waggling her eyebrows. She received light smacks on the shoulder from her blushing girlfriends. She protested. “Hey!”

Chloe chuckled. “Glad to see some things are the same here.” she turned to Rachel. “Don’t worry, we all have our insecurities.”

Looking around, Max sighed. “We should probably get going, Chloe.”

Chloe nodded regretfully. “Yeah, I think so too. Sorry to cut this a bit short, but... we’ve got a _lot_ of random places to cover!”

Max then rooted around in her bag and took out her camera.

Rachel looked up, excited, and asked “Are you going to take a picture with us? I mean... You obviously need to record your journey!”

Max looked down shyly. “I was just going to ask you all that.”

“Wait... is that dad’s old camera? Oh, man; that hunk of junk is still working where you’re from?” Other Chloe said gleefully.

Max shrugged. “Yeah... it was a late birthday gift from this mushy nerd over here.” she smiled at Chloe, who tried her best to look offended. “Now, please arrange yourselves!”

The three happily posed while Max set the camera up on the desk to take two timed shots.

She and her Chloe held hands and joined the three girlfriends on the bed, striking a pose with them.

Two flashes later, the first addition to Max and Chloe’s new travel journal was almost ready.

Walking to the three people still on the bed, Max and Chloe hugged them all again.

“It was a hella awesome start to this whole thing, if I do say so myself.” Chloe said, smiling. “It was... good to see you again, Rach. Even if you’re not... you know, our Rachel.”

Rachel’s eyes misted over slightly, giving Chloe another hug which was returned enthusiastically. After a few seconds, Chloe suddenly jumped and turned to her other self.

“Oh! Before I forget; how’d you convince Maxipad to dye her hair?! I have to know; I’ve been trying to convince her to at least _try_ for months!”

Other Max looked mortified and put her face in her hands while Other Chloe burst out laughing. “I... I... Oh, man! You mean...” she turned to Max. “You mean you let her call you Maxipad sometimes?!”

“Um... yeah? It’s just Chloe being a dumb dork, so...”

“Because that’s exactly the nickname I threatened to start calling her if she didn’t try dyeing her hair! Bahahahahaha!” Other Chloe laughed so hard she fell off the bed, while Rachel was trying her hardest to show a semblance of support for Max while trying not to giggle herself. Max wasn’t fooled, of course, and gave Rachel a few pillow swipes as punishment.

Chloe pouted slightly at being denied a possible means to ‘convince’ Max to spice her hair up. Things soon calmed down; Max looked at the photos she made, deemed them acceptable (the bunny ears gestures from both Chloes and Rachel notwithstanding), then picked them up and headed towards the three.

“Here...” she handed one to her counterpart. “As a memory. You all need one as well.” Max pulled out a pen and poised it to write something. “Wait, I’m curious... what date is it here right now? All I can tell is that it’s winter.”

“18th of December, 2014.” Other Max said. “What was yours when you left?”

“22nd of February, same year.” Max said while nodding and scribbling ‘Universe #1’ on the two photos. Then she and Chloe signed them.

Max looked at the three women, smiling slightly. “Well... I guess this is goodbye. Thank you all. Take care of yourselves!”

“Keep slaying!” Chloe winked. “Don’t know if we’ll ever stumble into here again, but...” she shrugged. “Who knows? Best of luck.”

Taking a deep breath, Max focused and selected another random image. She waved at Rachel, Max, and Chloe before holding hands with her Chloe again.

With that, Max and Chloe walked through the hole in the fabric of space-time, leaving this universe behind.

* * *

The room was silent for a bit.

Rachel then sighed. “Alright, alright... I’m a believer now.”

Chloe and Max fistbumped, grinning victoriously.

“Do you think William will faint from giddiness when he sees the photo, Chloe?” Max asked.

Chloe looked genuinely thoughtful. “It’s very likely.” she nodded sagely.

“Okay, we’ll make sure the ancient sci-fi geek stands next to a pillow pile.” Rachel said, giving each of her girlfriends a brief kiss. “For now, we still have an epic finale to prepare for!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Bad? Average? Good?  
> Fair warning that I had most of this chapter written out when I posted the first one; it only needed some dialogue fills and polishing. I hope I'll be able to write the next chapter within a week, though! <3 Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by that one San Francisco vacation photo in Joyce's room. It was a bit hard to deduce the approximate date due to their fairly light clothing and Joyce's obviously advanced pregnancy, but I settled on mid-January 1994, 2 months before Chloe was born. I'll blame a temperature spike for their clothes. :3 (Also, complete guesswork on Joyce's age, as well. We're never told her exact DoB/age)

Stepping out of the hole in space-time, Max and Chloe looked around again. They seemed to be in a fairly dirty alley; nobody was in sight.

“Well... not as exciting, eh Max?” Chloe said, lightly bumping Max with her elbow.

“Yes... peace and quiet. A foreign concept to you, I’m sure.” Max said dryly.

Laughing, Chloe took Max’s hand and they headed towards the alley’s exit. Peering at the sky and the shadows on the buildings, Chloe said “Hmm... seems like noon to me.”

Exiting into the street, they gasped.

The sight was as beautiful as on any postcard they had ever seen of it. The Golden Gate Bridge standing magnificent in the shining sunlight made Max’s hand twitch towards the camera in her bag.

“Oh, man! We’re in San Fran!” Chloe barely restrained herself from yelling.

Not being able to restrain herself anymore, Max took out the camera. “Alright, Miss Punk Princess; I never got to take pictures of the Bridge in that one timeline; I want some good shot opportunities, and I want them now! Let’s get closer.” she said, linking hands with Chloe again. After a few moments of walking, a thought came to Max. “Hmm... The weather’s pretty mild... Do you think it’s spring?” she wondered.

“We can always get a newspaper to see the date later, Maxaroni. Come on!”

They both thought it was incredibly nice to just walk and relax while going around the bay’s edge, taking a photo here and there. Like an actual semi-normal vacationing couple.

(But, of course... normal didn’t seem to belong in Max and Chloe’s vocabulary anymore.)

After tiring themselves out over the span of a few hours, they bought some fresh pretzels from a nearby bakery and decided to lay down their backpacks and sit on a bench overlooking the bay while they ate.

In the serene atmosphere, Chloe mused about how rare moments like this-moments of peace-could be.

 _‘One should always treasure moments like these, whenever or wherever they may happen.’_ she thought, and looked at Max. She could already feel the goofy smile that began forming at the sight of her girlfriend.

“You know...” Chloe began. “I never really thought my crappy life would turn out like this.”

Max looked over at her partner in crime and time. She took her hand with hers, and squeezed comfortingly.

“Sitting here now, relaxing with you in some random alternate universe San Fran? I don’t know. I’m not good at this mushy stuff, but-” she was interrupted by a light skeptical scoff from Max. “Hey!” Chloe poked Max with a smile. “But seriously... I think that, for all the shit my life’s been... Being here with you makes it all worth it.”

She brought their intertwined hands up, giving Max’s hand a light kiss.

“It really, really does.”

Max couldn’t help the adoring, besotted smile that appeared on her face at that moment.

“That goes both ways, Chloe.” she said. “For all the nightmarish things I went through in that week to get to that cliff, I don’t regret any of it one bit; because _you’re_ here with me.” she looked deep in thought for a second, then continued. “You know, when I was up on that cliff and thinking of what I had done and what I would do... When you asked me to-“ Max took a deep, shuddering breath. “... to go back and let you die, I had a realization... an epiphany; right before making up my mind. It was just a single, amazingly pure, moment of clarity... After which I knew that, for good or bad, that photo was going to be shredded to pieces by my hands. Do you know what I realized?”

Chloe looked at Max, silent. Then, she whispered, almost too quiet to hear; one could even call her tone reverent.

“What was it, Max?”

Smiling at Chloe again, Max replied. “I realized that a world without Chloe Price _wasn’t worth saving_.”

Chloe blinked quickly to try and hold back her tears. She gave Max a wobbly smile and then launched herself at her from the other side of the bench, with the tears winning the battle and escaping.

“You.” she kissed Max. “Fucking.” Again. “ _Nerd_.” And one last time. Then she poked Max again. ”Did you just fucking quote Sailor Moon at me?” she grinned at her.

Max couldn’t help but think that Chloe’s smile easily outshone the afternoon sun.

“Well... it seemed appropriate. And it’s exactly what I was thinking, so...” Max shrugged, still smiling. She was crying as well, hugging Chloe tightly.

They held each other for a while, oblivious to the world around them.

As the sun began setting, they decided it was time to search for a place to sleep. They could certainly find a nicely hidden spot to lay out the large bedroll they carried with them, but they decided to find a hotel if they could.

Walking through the area, they managed to find a relatively nice-looking hotel. Entering it, they went up to the receptionist who was busy reading the newspaper.

“Hello ma’am!” Chloe said. “We’d like to book a room.”

Looking up and seeing the two young women, she sized them up. When she saw the backpacks they were wearing, she smiled. “You seem to be traveling, hm? One night, I assume?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Max replied. “How much do we need to pay?”

“50$ per night per room, dear.”

“Great! Just one room, please.” Getting some money from their reserve, they paid and got their room key. They both put their signatures in the check-in/out book, and started towards the stairs. Before going up though, Max decided to ask one more question.

“Sorry, but... do you happen to have a spare copy of a newspaper? We’d like to catch up with recent events.” she said.

The receptionist pointed them towards the table near the door.

“Thank you!” Max said, smiling gratefully, Max grabbed one newspaper and then went with Chloe to their assigned room. They entered and dropped off their backpacks near the bed.

It was a pretty decent room, all things considered; definitely clean and comfortable enough for their needs, and with a working shower!

Chloe stretched herself before plopping down on the bed. “Man... I’m beat. Let’s have a look at that paper, then. I’m curious when your RNG got us this time!”

Max looked at the front page, looking for the date. Her eyes widened when she saw it.

“Well... Not a bad gap for a second dice roll.” Max said. “18th of January, 1994... The fairly mild weather must be due to a spike.”

Chloe raised her eyebrows and whistled. “Niiiiice! I wond-” Then she scrunched her face up. “I... just had a thought. It’s kinda weird to know that, at this moment, I’m probably out there somewhere giving mom a good kicking from the inside.”

Max laughed, taking off her clothes. Chloe followed her lead, and soon they fell asleep cuddled together, too tired to do anything more strenuous.

* * *

 

The clear, sunny morning was like a balm to Max and Chloe. It was with renewed enthusiasm that the two travelers got up and prepared for one final photography session near the Bridge.

After an... _extended_ joint shower, they dressed back up in their regular clothes and went to check out.

The receptionist from yesterday was having her morning coffee, and they waved at her. She waved back, giving a friendly smile. “I’m guessing you’re checking out?”

“Yep! Thanks for the room; it was great.” Max said.

“Good luck, you two; hope you get to wherever you’re going safely.”

Chloe chuckled. “We... don’t really have a set destination. We’re going with the flow, for now.”

That earned her a raised eyebrow. “So young, and getting wanderlust? Well, even more luck your way, dears.”

Nodding their thanks, they gave back their room key and signed themselves into the check-in/out book again.

Max and Chloe walked outside, making their way back towards the Bridge.

“Alright... Let’s get back to that bench we were at yesterday; that was a great spot!” Max said excitedly.

“Sure thing, Super Max. We’ll eat breakfast at that bakery again, alright?”

“Sounds perfect.”

After eating, it wasn’t long before they found the bench again; except it was already occupied. Max saw the woman on the bench and turned to Chloe, sighing. “Well... Plans for bench domination scrapped. Should we ask if it’s already fully taken?”

“You never know until you try, Max...” Chloe said, before taking Max’s hand and going towards the woman. After reaching her, they took in the woman’s appearance. Probably in her mid-twenties; decently long blonde hair in a neat bun, a white dress, obviously designed for her advanced pregnancy and... sunglasses, as well as a white cane. She was blind.

“Um... excuse us, ma’am; can my friend and I sit here? Are the rest of these seats taken?” Chloe began.

The woman turned her head slightly to acknowledge Chloe, and smiled.

“Oh, sure thing, darlin’. I’m just waiting for my husband to finish fawning over the Golden Gate with his new camera.” she shook her head with a smile. “Oh, bless him.”

Suddenly Chloe and Max couldn’t breathe. Sure, it was much younger-sounding, and the southern accent was slightly heavier, but they’ve been hearing that voice for most of their lives.

Joyce Price just kept smiling, unaware of the turmoil she was causing.

“A-Alright, mo-ma’am. Thank you.” Chloe stammered, sitting down with Max... who was just as shaken.

Tilting her head slightly, Joyce asked. “No need to be shy! Hmm... those... backpacks?... sounded mighty heavy; you two going camping somewhere?”

Looking at each other for a second, they nodded. Max decided to start.

“Oh, we’re traveling in general, ma’am. Seeing where the wind takes us... Have to pack for everything, right?”

“Hah! Too true... Oh, the fussing William did with packing when we decided to take a vacation here... We arrived two days ago from Oregon; thought we could get it in while this little one-“ She patted her bump gently. “-was still relatively calm.”

Chloe gulped. “How far along are you?”

“Currently seventh month; expecting her mid-March.” Her smile when talking about her baby was radiant. “Now, where are you two from? Have you been traveling long?”

“Uh, yes, for a few months now. And we’re, uh... from Oregon too.” Max said.

“Oh? Where exactly, Miss... oh, look at me and my awful manners, I didn’t even introduce myself! For shame...” Joyce said, shaking her head at herself. “My name’s Joyce.” she smiled again.

“Um... My name’s Max, and this i-“ she was suddenly interrupted by a warm, rough voice.

“All done, dear!”  William Price came forward and kissed his wife. Then he looked at the other occupants of the bench. “Oh, hello there. Thanks for keeping Joyce from dying of boredom, whoever you are.” he grinned at them.

Joyce poked him. “William!”

“Sorry, sorry... heh. So, who are you?”

“We’re traveling around, sir.” Chloe answered. “Trying to see the world. Me with my eyes, and Max here with her camera lens.” she grinned at her girlfriend, who stuck out her tongue at her.

Feeling William perk up noticeably, Joyce groaned. “Darling, please... don’t talk their ears off.”

“But would I be talking it off if the ear is more than willing to listen? In fact, I bet they’re both immune to photography enthusiasm-induced ear loss, right ladies?” he winked.

Max giggled while Chloe groaned. “Yes... it’s an acquired skill, let me tell you.” Chloe said with a wide grin. So far, she was successful in resisting her primal urge to just hug the couple tightly.

Her comment earned her a brief tickle fight from Max, though, and laughs from William and Joyce. After calming down, they turned back towards the smiling couple. The feeling of nostalgia that gripped both of them was tight, yet comforting at the same time.

“Well... I was just going to sit here while Max took photos of the Bridge for our travel journal, but... would you mind taking one with us? We try to capture everyone we meet as well.” Chloe said.

“Well, of course! All four of us? Hold on...” he went to an older man who was passing by, and asked them to take a picture of the group. Max took out her Polaroid, handing it to the person. William noticed it, and remarked “Good taste!” with a grin, holding his own identical camera up.

Max briefly wondered what he would say if he saw the identical serial numbers and the ‘Property of William Price’ sticker on both of them, then quickly dismissed the thought.

They struck a pose on the bench, with William kneeling down on next to Joyce, and Max and Chloe on her other side. Suddenly Max remembered something. “Oh! Two pictures, please!” Max added. The older gentleman nodded, and they resumed the pose. Two flashes and whirrs later, the pictures were done. Thanking the man, Max took her camera and the photos back.

She took out a pen to tag both photos with “Universe #2”, and put on in the backpack for later. She and Chloe both signed the second photo and then handed it to a giddy William.

“Here... something for you to remember us by as well.” Max said to them.

“It was awesome meeting you, sir... ma’am.” Chloe added. “Thanks for the photo!”

“Take care, y’all.” Joyce waved in their general direction.

“Safe travels, and best of luck.” William said while shaking their hands.

They nodded, but Chloe had another thing to do. Crouching next to Joyce, she looked at the bump, and spoke.

“You’re gonna be a little hellraiser, aren’t you? I got a feeling about you...”

William laughed. “Well, I hope not! I’m already losing color in my hair; I shouldn’t go gray before I’m 40!”

Chloe just smiled and turned back towards the baby. “Kick some ass, little Chloe. Good luck to all of you.”

Waving at them, Max and Chloe intertwined their hands and went across the street into an alley to get some privacy. Before Max opened another hole, she hugged Chloe tightly.

“Are you alright?” Max asked.

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, Mad Max... I’m surprised myself, but... I’m actually alright.” she smiled at Max and kissed her warmly. “Thank you.”

Linking their hands again, they went through the new hole Max created... leaving another universe behind.

* * *

 

At the bench, William Price smiled at the two young women who were leaving. Traveling the world so young... well, he wished them the best. Turning to his wife, he frowned. She had a really intense look on her face, and her brow was furrowed.

“Honey... what’s the matter?”

“William... how did that girl know we were going to name the baby Chloe?” Joyce whispered cautiously.

He blinked. “You mean... you didn’t tell them when you talked?”

“No.”

William shivered a bit. “I suddenly feel like I’m in an episode of that newly popular series all of a sudden; X-Files, you know.”

Then he looked at the photo, and the names that were signed on them.

The new chill that went down his spine was a lot more intense.

“Alright... now I definitely feel like this is an X-Files episode, dear.” his voice was slightly shaking.

Joyce’s look shifted to immense concern. “Why? What happened?!”

“Oh, I just... looked at the names they signed on the photo. Here, feel the indents. They’re distinguishable enough.” he said nervously.

Joyce became even more worried while William was handing her the photo. Running her fingers over it, she slowly traced the inscription. William could see the moment realization shook her.

Because the signatures read something that shouldn't have been possible.

_‘Universe #2_

_Love and hugs for many years to William and Joyce. We hope Arcadia Bay is kind to you when you return. Sincerely, Max Caulfield and Chloe Price.’_

Silence.

“She writes her E’s like you do.” Joyce whispered after a minute.

William snorted and started laughing.

* * *

 

_19 years later_

William Price was humming a song and drinking coffee while making pancakes. Joyce was finishing with her bath upstairs while he was on breakfast duty, and his daughter and her best friend would wake up from their sleepover soon. Pancakes were serious business, as anyone would tell you, and only the best pancakes became distinguished enough for his family!

He soon heard two pairs of feet to his left, and saw Chloe and Max descending the stairs through the kitchen door. Normally, this wouldn't have raised any eyebrows, but they seemed... cautious? William wondered what happened.

“Come on, girls! These pancakes await your esteemed presence.”

They smiled at him. “Thanks, dad!” “Thanks, William!”

“I’m sure they’ve been disciplined enough.” Chloe grinned.

“Oh, for sure... now, while they stew in fear of you finding them wanting; wanna tell me what’s up? You two seem a bit more... tentative, I could say.”

They shifted nervously and looked at each other. Coming to a silent understanding, they linked hands.

“Dadwe’vestarteddating.” Chloe blurted out.

William blinked. “I’m sorry, did I hear that right? You said you two are _dating_?” he asked.

Looking at each other again, they took deep breaths and let them out, nodding.

“Yes, William.” Max said resolutely. "We are."

William suddenly whooped and fistpumped. “YES! Victory is mine!”

Whatever reaction they were expecting, this wasn’t it. Max and Chloe blinked confusedly.

“Mwahahaha! DID YOU HEAR THAT, HONEY? VICTORY IS MINE!” he yelled.

“Dad... what?” Chloe asked, befuddled.

Suddenly William remembered them, and composed himself. “Oh, nothing special Chloe. Your mother and I just had a teeny... tiny... minuscule little bet on when you two would start dating. I said ‘before Chloe turned twenty’, she said ‘after’.” he said, grinning.

Their faces were priceless, if he said so himself.

Well, technically they weren’t _price_ less...

Their blushes were enough to fry the pancakes on though, of that he was sure.

“Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!” Chloe groaned. Max was mortified and couldn’t speak.

His grin didn't falter one bit. Suddenly, Joyce came down the stairs in her bathrobe, her hand on the railing.

“What’s all this racket about, you three? What happened?”

“Oh, it’s just the fact that I _won_ , honey.” his smugness was palpable.

Joyce froze for a second. Then she facepalmed and groaned.

“You two couldn’t have waited a bit more?!” she asked in exasperation.

By this point, Max and Chloe were just hoping for the ground to open up and swallow them.

When that didn’t happen, unfortunately, they turned to William and Joyce and put on their best resolute faces. The still-present blushes ruined the effect slightly.

“Mom... Dad... why were you betting on this at all?” Chloe asked.

Chloe’s parents were silent for a few moments... then William put his hand on Joyce’s shoulder. She looked contemplative, before nodding decisively.

“It’s not a very... normal story, Chloe.” Joyce said, much to their confusion.

“It’s very simple, actually, but also very complicated.” William began, heading towards the bookshelf in the living room. “You see, it was when we were on vacation in San Francisco way back in early ’94.” he said.

He searched through the shelves, grumbling about the clutter. “I know I have that photo hidden here somewhere...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Bad? Average? Good?  
> Apologies if this seems a little... scattered? I guess that's what happens when you have writer's block 300 words in for a week, and then suddenly getting inspiration to write ~2900 words in less than 3 hours yesterday. x.x  
> I hope you enjoyed! <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *quietly brushes dust off of fic* Well, after 4 months of writer's block, writing, writer's block, scrapping the first concept for the chapter, writing, more writer's block, some writing, and MORE writer's block, chapter 4 is here. Better late than never, aye? :p I hope you enjoy. <3

Max and Chloe exited the hole in space-time to find themselves on a beautiful coastline, the full moon shining on the water. The slight chill in the air sent shivers through them.

“Aww, you take me to all the good places, Maxipad.” Chloe said, clasping her hands in front of her.

“Well... I do aim to please, Captain.” Max replied, striking a posture. Then she looked around, trying to spot anything familiar. “Hmm... I wonder where we a-“ she began, then froze.

Chloe turned to Max, curious why she stopped talking, when she saw what Max was looking at.

Far down the coast, looking tiny on the horizon, was a lighthouse illuminated by moonlight.

An incredibly familiar lighthouse.

Chloe groaned. “Ugh... we can’t escape that piece of crap, can we?”

Max pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. “Well, let’s see if there’s anything unusual around; I... I know this is only our third jump, but I’m starting to think my powers are depositing us in... ‘interesting’ times and places, so to say.” Max said, making air quotes. She frowned thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s something I’m subconsciously doing?”

Chloe put her arm around Max, squeezing. “Who knows? We’ll keep track and see if any patterns exist.” she said. “I’ll jot anything unusual down in one of the notebooks!”

Max nodded, smiling. “Gotcha, Professor Price.” She then intertwined her hand with Chloe’s, and they set out towards the lighthouse. If there was anything special to see, it would be there.

Five minutes later, they certainly got their wish... although finding a young Max Caulfield lying just off the road, alone and apparently collapsed from exhaustion, wasn’t exactly their idea of ‘special’.

Max and Chloe looked at each other, horrified, and hurried towards the young Max. This Max looked thirteen; fourteen at most. What did she do that caused her to completely collapse?

Max looked at the younger version of her, trying to see anything wrong. After feeling her mouth, and finding it extremely dry, she turned to Chloe. “Give me some water, Chloe!” she said. “She looks very dehydrated!”

Chloe nodded, rummaging in her backpack for a bottle. Finding it quickly, she handed it to Max, who began slowly pouring small amounts at a time into the young girl’s mouth. She didn’t seem to be feverish, which was a relief.

“Do you think she’ll be able to eat something?” Chloe asked. “If she’s this dehydrated, she can’t have eaten much either.”

“Perhaps. We’ll see how she feels.” Max replied.

They sat down next to the younger Max, and tried to make her comfortable.

About fifteen minutes passed, with Max and Chloe reminiscing on this period of their lives and wondering if this Max was having the same difficulties that they did.

“What do you think happened to her, Chloe?” Max asked.

“My best guess? Hmm... she doesn’t have any injuries or bruises, so I’d rule out anything nefarious; I think she ran away, to be honest.” Chloe said thoughtfully.

Max thought about it, nodding to acknowledge Chloe’s guess. “Could be. I won-“

She was interrupted by a light cough coming from the sleeping beauty; the younger Max was waking up and looking around blearily, trying to figure out where she was.

“Wh-... wha-... where...” she tried to string together a sentence, but was interrupted by another bout of coughing.

“Here’s some more water.” Chloe whispered, offering the bottle. “Just take it easy.”

The teen gratefully accepted the bottle, and sipped the water slowly.

However, she soon stiffened and looked on the verge of panic. “O-oh no, what time is it?! I have to go back!”

Max and Chloe looked at each other, confused, as younger Max looked around and finally spotted the lighthouse in the distance. She gave a relieved smile, and set off towards it.

“Hey, wait!” Max said. “You just woke up after collapsing from exhaustion and you want to set off immediately?”

Young Max didn’t stop. “Y-You don’t under-” she coughed. “You don’t understand; I have to go back to Arcadia Bay!” she said, not even turning around.

“Why?” Max asked, catching up and grabbing one shoulder.

Younger Max curled in on herself slightly, hunching her shoulders. “Please, just let me go. I _have_ to go back!” she pleaded, still not facing them. She stiffened again suddenly, “Did my parents send you to look for me?!” she demanded, almost desperately.

After jumping to that conclusion, she tore herself out of Max’s grip and turned around to face them... _raising her right hand_.

Stunned, Max felt the ebb of time starting to bend backwards... but despite her surprise, she managed to raise her own right hand to halt Young Max’s rewinding and negate it.

To say that the young Max was baffled would be an understatement. She was shocked out of her attempt at a rewind, and stumbled down onto the ground, her eyes wide.

“Sorry, but I’m a lot better than this than you, I can guarantee that.” Max said with an apologetic smile. “I’m truly sorry we scared you, but we mean you no harm.”

“You should listen to Maxie here, young Padawan.” Chloe said cheekily. “You might learn something.”

Young Max’s head whipped towards that _oh-so familiar_ yet _not_ voice. Gazing at Chloe’s face intently, her eyes widened even more.

“C...C-Chl...” she tried to say, her mouth hanging open.

Chloe winked at her, then turned to her Max, nudging her with an elbow. “Hey Max, I don’t think I remember ever seeing you this bamboozled in my life!” she said.

Max rolled her eyes. “Chloe! Stop! This is serious for her.” she said, gesturing to the teen.

Young Max turned towards her counterpart then, taking a good look at her for the first time. “Y-You’re...”

Max gave her a friendly smile. “Yep!”

That was her cue to finally faint from stress again. The thump echoed slightly.

Max and Chloe winced.

“Well... that could’ve gone a bit better.” Chloe said.

“You sure are one for understatements...” Max said, raising an eyebrow.

“Come on... let’s help her get back to Arcadia, at least.” Chloe said, crouching down to pick up the collapsed teen. “You always were light...” she added.

“Nah, you were always just strong, Chloe.” Max said, bringing a hand up and squeezing a bicep appreciatively. She bit her lip slightly. Chloe blushed, a small smile on her lips.

“Let’s keep that kind of talk for when I have a good place to ravage you, Max. I don’t think you’d like grass in your hair.” she said, winking and starting to carry the young Max.

Max’s only response was to giggle.

* * *

 

It was almost midnight when they arrived in Arcadia Bay. Chloe was getting pretty tired of carrying Max, so she laid her down next to a tree just on the edge of town.

“Phew...” Chloe let out, panting. “Lemme just... have 5 minutes...”

“Here.” Max said, rooting inside her backpack and taking out the water bottle, giving it to Chloe.

Chloe took it gratefully and chugged, wiping her mouth with her forearm afterwards.

Suddenly, a small groan could be heard. Max and Chloe immediately looked at the waking Max, relieved.

"Hey, squirt, you're OK." Chloe said softly. "Sorry to have dropped this on you like that."

At that, young Max inhaled sharply and looked up at the two older girls.

"That... wasn't a dream? Oh my god..." she whispered.

Max and Chloe sat down next to her, putting comforting hands on young Max's shoulders.

"Need some more water? Hungry?" Max asked.

"Um..." young Max began, still quite shaken. "I could eat something, I think."

A sudden, loud growl from her stomach let the two know to bring out the big guns, while Max blushed.

Chloe took out a wrapped sandwich from her backpack, handing it to young Max. She snorted in amusement when Max began to tear into it ravenously. "Slow down there, Max. We don't want you choking, do we?"

Max giggled, while young Max blushed again.

 They sat in relative silence while Max finished the sandwich. After she was done, she looked up at her two saviors.

"Thank you so much..." she began. "I..."

"Hey, hey... it's alright." Max said, hugging her counterpart. She tentatively hugged back.

Chloe, _of course_ , pounced on them yelling "MAX SANDWICH!". The mood was lightened slightly, with the three smiling.

"So..." young Max began. "Is it alright if I ask..." she trailed off, biting her lip.

"Yeah... but it might take a while. Alternate universes are a doozy, as you might know... You alright to keep moving?" Chloe asked.

She nodded decisively, getting up slowly. "Let's go!"

Max helped her counterpart steady herself, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. They began walking towards the town.

"By the way, why were you even running? You thought Mr. and Mrs. C sent us."

Young Max grimaced slightly, sadness overtaking her again. "I might as well go first..." She took a deep breath. "It all started since..." her lip trembled slightly. "Since William died a few days ago."

Chloe and Max went silent, hanging their heads slightly. "I'm guessing it's the last week of September 2008, hm?" Max said.

"I... yes, but how..." Young Max said, then stopped herself. "Oh... oh. You too?" she asked, sorrow in her eyes as she looked at the two.

Chloe nodded, a rueful smile on her face. "Yep... but please, continue. I've come to terms with it."

Young Max acquiesced, taking a deep breath. "Did mom and dad decide to move to Seattle on your end as well?" she asked Max.

Max nodded, gesturing for the teen to continue.

"Well, we were about a dozen miles away from Arcadia Bay, and stopped at a gas station when..."

_Max looked at the slightly cracked mirror of the gas station's bathroom, numbly registering her puffy red eyes._

_She probably cried herself out enough for a month; and even more threatened to escape. She gritted her teeth, clenching the sink tightly._

_"Chloe..." she whispered brokenly._

_Her parents took her away from her best friend. Right after her dad died! How was that fair?!_

_When would she see Chloe again? How many months or years would pass?!_ Would _she even see Chloe again?!_

_That thought was too terrible, too horrible, for Max to comprehend._

_Inconceivable._

_Something inside her snapped._

_"No." she whispered resolutely._

_She wasn't leaving Chloe alone._

_She was going back, her parents be damned. She didn't care if they caught her and locked her up in a room, she was GOING BACK._

_She looked towards the small window, noting that she could probably crawl through it._

_Max nodded to herself._

_'Super Max, onwards.'_

_She managed to crawl through the window; getting to her feet and trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, she set off back down the road._

_She was several dozen feet away when her hopes got shattered._

_"MAXINE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" she heard her mom yell. Max listened to instinct, and took off at a sprint._

_Tears of anger and righteous fury starting to leak, she ran as fast as she could._

_It was futile, despite her best efforts. She could hear her dad and his yelling closing in._

_"JUST LET ME GO! I NEED TO GO BACK!" she screamed behind her desperately._

_She could see her dad putting on a burst of speed, hoping to catch up quickly._

_Max choked off a sob, breathing heavily from the running she was doing._

_She could hear him inching closer. And closer. She turned around to beg him not to take her away from Chloe again, reaching out with her hands as if she could stop his advance._

_"NO! Just-"_

_But... that was all she was able to utter, as the world suddenly began moving as if through thick syrup; slowing down gradually._

_It eventually came to a standstill._

_Max was baffled._

_Then the world threw another curveball... going_ backwards _._

_Max remained unaffected._

_She looked at her hands._

_She lowered them._

_Time resumed its normal flow._

_Her dad was further away, and gasped as Max seemingly 'teleported' ahead and stood looking towards him._

_Max looked back at her hands, wonder lighting her face._

_She raised her hand again, focusing._

_Time listened._

_She got an idea._

_She estimated the time when she was in the bathroom._

_Max stopped channeling. No more pursuit. For now._

_A massive grin lit her face up as she set off towards Arcadia Bay again._

_'I'm coming, Chloe!' she thought._

_She laughed joyously._

_'I'm coming!'_

"... and the last thing I remember is sitting down to rest, and then... you two." young Max finished her tale. She looked up at the two universe-trekkers, seeing wonder and mirth there.

"Well, damn! Little Max ain't fucking around!" Chloe exclaimed with a giant grin.

Max shook her head in wonder. "Woah... you unlocked it five years before I did!"

Young Max blinked, blushing slightly again. "How did you do it, if I may ask?"

The mood turned slightly somber.

"It's a bit more... serious." Max said.

"Well, I guess saving me from being shot _is_ a tad more exciting." Chloe said.

Young Max recoiled. "Shot?! What?"

Max and Chloe looked at each other. "It's time for our side of the story..." Max said, launching into the tale.

_A few minutes later..._

All in all, to say that the young teen was awed at the story would be an understatement. She hugged them both, trembling slightly.

"With any luck, you won't have to go through any of that." Max said.

Young Max sniffed. "And it's because of you... Thank you! And you just randomly got here and saved me while..." she started giggling. "While randomly jumping universes?" Her giggles started escalating. "I don't know whether to laugh or get on my knees!"

"Both is always good." Chloe said cheekily.

Max rolled her eyes. "Hush, you. Let's just get to the house."

* * *

 

A few minutes later, they entered Cedar Avenue, and the Price home was within reach.

Chloe looked at young Max contemplatively as they walked. "You do realize that Joyce will probably call the 'rents as soon as she finds you in my-... in Chloe's room?"

Her answer was a look of stubborn resolve. "Maybe. But they can't keep us away from each other." she glanced down at her hands. "I won't _let_ them."

Max looked at her in understanding. She put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it lightly.  "Just be careful, alright? I found out the hard way just how _much_ can change from a single point of divergence." she said, thinking back to a different Chloe; a desperate, helpless, bed-bound Chloe.

Chloe saw Max's face shift into something far-away and despondent, and could guess where her mind had wandered. She still remembered the time Max told her just what happened after they separated on that Wednesday; it's not every day your BFF comes back from an alternate universe where you were paralyzed as a consequence of your dad _not fucking dying_.

 _'If the multiverse was an actual person, I'd owe them a good tirade and a punch or two.'_ Chloe thought as she went over to Max and hugged her gently.

"Hey... I'm here, Max. I'm here, and OK. Remember?" she said to Max, lovingly stroking her back.

Max took a deep breath, trying to get back to the present. She hated when this happened; the feeling of drowning in the horrible memories of that week was something she could definitely do without.

She let out a light chuckle as she returned from memory lane. _'I thought I moved a bit past 'acceptance' in the whole stages-of-grief shtick'_ she thought to herself.

"Thanks, Chloe." she whispered, leaning up to kiss Chloe softly. Chloe squeezed Max tighter, slowly reciprocating.

They separated after half a minute, only to see young Max looking supremely, completely confused, and staring at the two of them with her mouth open slightly.

Chloe chuckled. "What? Don't tell me you're surprised?"

Max poked her. "Real gentle, Chloe."

Chloe squirmed out of reach, and knelt next to the bamboozled Max. "Listen kid... you're prepared to run away from your family all on your own; to move mountains, twist time, rend the universe apart for your Chloe. Right?"

Young Max blinked, then nodded resolutely.

Max knelt too. "You can't imagine your life without her; it's inconceivable. Unfathomable. _Wrong_."

Another nod.

"She's the most important person in your life, isn't she?" Max asked gently.

Another firm nod.

Chloe smiled. "Sorry to break it to you, squirt..." Chloe said, then snorted. "Well, not really sorry, but anyway... you're in _deep_. Like, stupidly gross and lovey-dovey levels of deep."

Max placed a hand on her counterpart's shoulder. "Indeed. I should know, after all." she said with a reassuring smile and a wink.

Young Max stood there for a bit, staring at them. After a minute, she let out a small, breathy "Oh."

Then she got a small smile, and exhaled a longer, gusty, awed "Oh..."

Chloe wrapped an arm around young Max's shoulder, smiling knowingly. "And just to avoid any potential teen angst bullshit, take it from the expert: she loves you too." she ruffled young Max's hair playfully. "Now that we're all on the same page, let's go. We've got a house to break into with awesome time powers!"

Both Maxes giggled at that. Older Max looked at Chloe knowingly. "Or we could just use the spare keys buried under the left bush?"

Chloe pouted. "You're no fun..."

* * *

 

The spare keys were, as always, under the bush to the left of the door. Chloe unlocked the door carefully, hoping they wouldn't have to use any Max brand timey-wimey juice for this despite her earlier eagerness.

Luckily, the door opened quietly and slowly. She ushered the Maxes inside and locked the door again, placing the keys on the small stand next to the door.

"Shhh... we're huntin' Chwoes!" Max whispered in her best Elmer Fudd voice, barely restraining an excited giggle. Younger Max shook with silent laughter.

Chloe chuckled quietly, basking slightly in the nostalgia that was this house. It still felt so familiar, yet different. She smiled at the pictures near the stairs, and the skateboard next to the garage door.

_'Now's not the time to get lost in memories, dork! You've got a ninja act to perform!'_

She acknowledged that little inner voice, and started creeping up the stairs with both Maxes following her. Chloe grabbed the doorknob of her room, and twisted it at a slight angle. It always failed to produce sound that way, and was invaluable in late-night cookie hunts!

Opening the door, they were greeted by a moonlit, familiar room. Their faces fell when they saw Chloe curled up on her bed in a fitful sleep.

"Time to go, young padawan..." Chloe whispered.

Young Max hung her head slightly, then quickly hugged the two universe-trekkers again.

"Thank you so much. I don't know what would've happened but... Thank you." she whispered.

Max and Chloe hugged her back, remaining that way for a few minutes.

Max broke the silence by asking "Can we take a picture, by the way? We're trying to keep a journal." she said shyly.

Young Max blinked. "Oh. I was... about to ask the same. To take a photo, I mean." she replied sheepishly.

Chloe shook her head fondly. "Photo nerds, always and forever... come on, let's catch young me in the photo too."

They posed next to the bed, with Max taking two pictures. She grabbed a marker pen from her backpack, quickly writing "Universe #3; best wishes to Max and Chloe on their journey together. Love, Max Caulfield and Chloe Price. ;)" on both.

"Here... keep it safe." Max said.

Young Max took it reverently. "Always..."

Chloe gazed at her younger self, then looked at young Max. "Take care of each other, hm? You'll go far if you just stick together." she said with a soft smile.

Young Max smiled and blushed slightly. "Of course. I'm never leaving her!"

"And remember what I said about being careful!" Max said, winking.

"Only the most careful of pirating, ma'am." Young Max said cheekily.

With breathy chuckles, Max and Chloe turned around and waved goodbye to the teen. Max grabbed at seemingly empty space, and ripped open a hole to step through. They were gone, a new universe awaiting them.

Max gazed at the spot where they disappeared, still slightly awed. Then her body chose to remind her just how tired she was, and she made her way to the bed.

She lay down next to Chloe, and put an arm around her.

"I'm never leaving you, Captain Chloe. Ever." she whispered, almost inaudibly even to herself.

* * *

 

_The next morning_

Chloe Price slowly woke up. She felt incredibly groggy; her eyes hurt. What hap-...

Oh.

Her chest constricted.

Like every morning since a few days ago, she remembered.

If she hadn't cried herself out last night as well, she would've started crying again right now.

Dad was gone.

 _Gone_.

 _Dead_.

She shook, dry sobs wracking her again.

 _He's **gone**_.

And not only was _dad_ gone; Max was too.

Her First Mate was gone.

Her best friend was gone. Just like dad.

Chloe felt despair and anguish well inside her, threatening to overflow.

 _'Why?! Why...?'_ she thought to herself, starting to curl into herself again.

Except...

Chloe froze.

She felt something.

There was something around her waist. Something... soft?

Chloe looked down, slightly afraid. What she saw took her breath away.

_'That hand; that ARM!'_

She would recognize it anywhere.

Chloe turned around, only to see the sleeping face of her best friend in the entire world: Max Caulfield. Her First Mate, her partner in crime.

She felt like she could cry yet again.

Max was here.

_Max was here!_

She wasn't _gone_!

She was still dry on tears, but she heaved and gasped as she tried to absorb this situation.

Was Max being gone too just a dream? Chloe didn't know, but she didn't care; Max was _here_!

She threw her arms around Max, holding on for dear life. This woke Max up, of course.

"Wh-... huh?" she said, looking around blearily. After a few seconds, she focused on the thing in front of her: Chloe's scrunched up, puffy face.

Max gasped, and let out a delighted, happy-beyond-belief "CHLOE!" and hugged her tightly. Chloe herself was still shaking.

"Max! Oh, you're here! I thought you were gone! It was just a dream... just a dream... you were gone too, just like dad." she whispered brokenly.

Max's face fell slightly, and she backed away a bit to look Chloe in the face. "... I _was_ gone, Chloe. My parents took me away yesterday."

Chloe's face assumed a look of fear, and she hugged Max tightly again. "But... they took you back? Why?"

Max smiled. "I ran away, doofus."

Chloe's eyes widened. Her mouth hung open.

"Nobody separates Captain and First Mate, right?" Max said with a small, loving smile.

Chloe just shook. "But... but then... when mom gets here she'll take you away! You have to hide!"

Max just smiled wider. "Don't worry. I had help."

Chloe's brow furrowed, and she rubbed at her eyes, trying to ease the soreness. "What are you talking about, Max?"

Max took a deep breath. "I'll explain everything later, but first: do you trust me, Chloe?"

Chloe looked at Max as if she asked if water was wet. " _Always_." she said hoarsely, without hesitation.

"Then we're going to fix things. Together." she said, checking her pocket for last night's photo, and finding it safe and sound. She then offered her hand to Chloe. "Please... take my hand, and don't let go."

Chloe looked confused, but immediately took Max's hand into her own. It was so warm.

"We're in this together, Captain Chloe. Forever. I swear to you."

Chloe gulped and smiled shakily, but resolutely. "Same to you, First Mate Caulfield. I'll always be with you. Pirate's honor." she said, squeezing Max's hand firmly.

Then Max raised her other hand, and Chloe's world turned hazy, and twisted, and _backwards_.

It was a turning point in her life, certainly.

 _Their_ lives, in fact.

Because you couldn't have Chloe without Max, or Max without Chloe.

It was that simple.

Years later, whenever Max and Chloe felt nostalgic, they'd take the slightly faded, beloved photo out of its hiding place, cuddle up on the couch, and gaze upon Chloe sleeping, and Max posing with their two helpers and rescuers.

It was still weird to see another you right next to you; but that was alright.

Life was strange like that, as they both proved time and time again.

After all, a real superhero and a pirate captain? The weirdest yet best combo _ever_ , if you asked Chloe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Bad? Average? Good?  
> Again, we're never given an exact date for William's death, but we do know that it was before October 2008 and that Joyce met David on 27.11.2008 from the old Two Whales receipt he keeps in his car. I debated between August and September as the most likely period, but chose September in the end.  
> I hope you liked it! <3 Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly faster (hah, understatement of the year) update, and a tad shorter, but... *clears throat*  
> This chapter's universe comes from an AU that my friend HR (over at haidoretreat.tumblr.com) came up with, involving a Life is Strange Figure Skating AU. This chapter is a birthday gift for her, on this 11th of May, as thanks for her unwavering support with writing this fic. Happy birthday, HR! <3 you! *hugs tightly* *ruffles your hair* I hope you like it. :3  
> P.S.: I know almost nothing about figure skating; I beg forgiveness for any glaring errors. <3

Max and Chloe were met with a slight murmur of a medium-sized crowd as they exited. Looking around they found themselves on the top row of an ice rink's stands, behind everyone else.

"Huh, a show this time? And it's figure skating! I've always wanted to see one of these live..." Chloe whispered to Max.

"Same here. There are a couple of empty seats over there, look," Max said, pointing at the seats.

"Lead on, Super Max." Chloe said. She brought up a hand to muffle a giggle. "You come up with the _best_ dates."

"I'm sure you won't be saying that when I land us in some apocalyptic wasteland."

Chloe shrugged. "Depends on the wasteland."

Max snorted in amusement. They sat among the empty seats in a darkened corner, and looked towards the ice.

Chloe glanced over the crowd they were behind, and furrowed her brow in thought. "These people are kinda familiar... wait, that's mom, I'm sure of it." Chloe said.

"Yeah... and that's Richard, Kate's dad. And I'm pretty sure that's Taylor's mom."

"We really can't escape this place, huh?"

Max shook her head. "One of these days, I'll take us somewhere nice myself, and not trust my powers.."

"Oooooh, can I choose?" Chloe exclaimed.

Max smirked slightly. "We'll see~," she said in a slight sing-song.

They were interrupted when a microphone turned on, and the wielder cleared their throat.

"Greetings everyone! I'm honored to welcome you to Arcadia Bay's Fifth Annual Junior Skating Event! Today is all about teaching young children about the wonderful sport that is figure skating and..." the voice of Victoria Chase rang out throughout the rink.

"Hah, Vicky's doing a good job enthralling the laypeople!" Chloe remarked as Victoria continued to present the show.

"She could always be persuasive when she wasn't acting as the queen bee, to be honest," Max said.

"... and with that, I present to you Arcadia Bay's youth, and their instructors for the day: Kate Marsh, as well as Max Caulfield and Chloe Price; our reigning champion duo!" she finished, clapping lightly and skating away.

Max and Chloe's eyes widened as Kate and another familiar pair skated out into the rink with about twenty children in tow. Their counterparts looked so... graceful. Some kind of jaunty, slow music began playing as they all began forming pairs.

"Huh. Well, damn."

"Woah..."

The skating was... well, in a word, majestic. And the way those three handled and taught the kids? Amazing. They watched the program for about ten minutes, enthralled.

"I didn't know how much I needed to see you dancing until now, you know?" Chloe said.

"Same goes for you... also, I didn't know you looked _that_ good in such an outfit, Chloe," Max said, blushing.

Chloe got a massive grin. "Ooooh... one for the personal list?"

Max blushed more, but nodded. Chloe giggled.

Chloe was about to continue teasing Max when she spotted a particularly impressive spin from the corner of her eye. "Oh, look! Kate's on fire!" she exclaimed.

And indeed, when Max looked over, there was Kate Marsh, looking elegant and graceful as she flowed along the ice almost effortlessly. Max smiled widely, seeing Kate's joy at being able to teach the young ones.

 _'Oh, Kate... I don't think any place we will ever visit is going to have a person with a purer heart than yours.'_ Max thought. Then she giggled. _'Well, at least ones that aren't you. Or will there? There are infinite universes, of course, but... ugh, migraine incoming, abort!'_

Chloe raised an eyebrow at Max. "What's so funny, Maxipad?"

"Just thinking about Kate... and possible versions of her. And the others. There are infinite possibilities, after all..." Max said.

Chloe nodded, thinking too. Then she got a wide grin and said to Max "Your Divine Grace-"

"Chloeeee!" Max whined.

"-I formally forward a request for a universe where I can get a new tattoo done by punk extraordinaire Kate Marsh." she finished.

Max sighed fondly. "Noted... dork," she replied with a smile.

"You love it~; denial is futile!" Chloe said.

Max laughed. "I do, indeed," she said, leaning in for a kiss. Chloe leaned in as well, putting her hand on the back of Max's head.

The kissed for a few seconds... however, they were startled by the clearing of a throat behind their seats.

They jumped apart and looked behind them, only to wince.

Staring at them with no small amount of amazement and incredulousness, as well as a bit of horror, was... Rachel Amber.

Max and Chloe looked at each other with contrition.

 _'Busted,'_ they thought.

They turned their gaze back towards Rachel, who was seemingly sizing them up. She was wearing a tracksuit with an emblem of Arcadia Bay's Ice Skating Association, and had a walking cane in her left hand.

The stand-off lasted for about a minute, and then Rachel gulped and broke the silence. "I think I would like an explanation as to why I'm seeing two of my best friends here in the stands _and_ on the ice." she whispered.

Max and Chloe looked at each other again, silently communicating. Nodding once, they looked back at Rachel.

"Have a seat, Rach," Chloe said solemnly.

Rachel nodded slowly, and went to the seat next to Max. Seating herself, she looked towards Max and Chloe, waiting silently.

Max sighed. "Sorry for scaring you," she said.

Rachel snorted. "That's one thing, certainly. Another is that I thought I was hallucinating... or going loopy," she replied.

The two travelers cringed. "We're really sorry." Chloe said. "We thought we hid well enough."

"Again... our sincerest apologies." Max said. "We're just..." She searched for a good word, scrunching her face. "... I guess tourists is as good a word as any," she finished.

Rachel stared at them incredulously. "Tourists?! What?!"

Chloe took this golden opportunity to heckle Max again, as she replied in a mock baritone "You're in the presence of a deity, Rachel Amber. Bow!"

Max facepalmed. "Chloe... how many times? Just because I can control time and space doesn't mean I'm some sort of deity!" she said.

Chloe shrugged nonchalantly. "As many times as it takes, Your Grace," she said cheekily.

Max shook her head, and they turned their attention back to a befuddled Rachel.

"What I meant was... well, since I can already control time and space, why not see what's out there? Alternate universes and such, you know?" Max said to her.

Rachel shook her head slowly. "You do realize how absurd all this is, right? I'm half-expecting to wake up and have you bugging me about your dumb crush again!" she said slightly hysterically, waving her hand at Chloe.

"Hey! I'll have you know my crushes are always sensible! Furthermore-" Chloe protested, then halted. "Wait, on who?"

Rachel raised an eyebrow and smirked, nodding towards Max.

Chloe's face lit up with comprehension. "Well, at least that's not different!" she said with a large smile, pinching Max's cheek.

Max sighed. "Behave, please," She returned her attention to Rachel. "Would you trust me for a minute?"

Rachel nodded. She took a deep breath. "What do you want to do?"

"Just take my hand."

Rachel blinked. "That's it?" she said, reaching out to take Max's hand.

Max smiled, holding her other arm out for Chloe to grasp. Chloe took it, and then Max _unleashed_.

Rachel blinked as something... changed.

It wasn't anything outwardly noticeable, but she knew _something_ changed.

She turned her gaze towards the two... 'tourists'? Clones?

They were looking at her expectantly, eyes flickering towards the rink.

Rachel turned towards it, and had to restrain herself from yelling.

Everyone, every _thing_ was completely frozen.

There was absolutely no sound either.

Rachel turned her slightly horrified, mostly awed gaze to Max. Max herself was smiling slightly, and lowered her hand quickly. The flow of time resumed as if nothing ever happened.

Max shrugged. "I could take you for a short tour of another universe, but something tells me you'd rather avoid that," she said, looking at Rachel knowingly.

Rachel just nodded mutely. After a minute, she started talking. "Well... should I do the whole tour guide spiel?" she asked with a touch of humor.

Chloe and Max laughed. "Nah, no need. Once we saw that there was a show going on, we were hooked," Chloe said. "By the way, how'd you see us? I seriously thought we blended in alright."

Rachel exhaled  a tired sigh. "You did a pretty good job, to be fair; if it wasn't for the blue hair, I probably would've overlooked you..."

_Rachel Amber, coach extraordinaire and Arcadia's best skater (pre-injury), observed her minions... er, trainees as they danced gracefully across the ice. She couldn't be more proud of them if she tried. Kate was so good with the kids, and Max and Chloe were doing their 'flawless duo' thing again, to much cheer from the children. It was honestly baffling how oblivious they still were._

'When will those two clueless idiots take a hint? Do I have to get a billboard saying 'KISS ALREADY' rented?' _she thought, sighing. She didn't have anything to do but watch as everyone proved they were Arcadia's best, yet again. She decided to do what she always did when she was bored._

_Crowd watching._

_It was always fascinating to her to observe people when they thought they weren't being observed themselves;_ 'So much shines through in those moments,' _she thought._

_She watched through her binoculars, seeing Mr. Marsh beam with unrestrained pride... Mrs. Bones' delight at her son obviously adoring the lesson... Joyce's teary eyes at what a marvelous job Chloe and Max were doing... Chloe and Max enjoying the show and whispering to themselves in a dark corner far away from the rest... Mrs. Grant wiping tears at-_

_Rachel could hear her brain come to a halt with a record scratching sound._

_She looked back._

_She would recognize that blue hair anywhere._

_'But... but...' she thought as anxiety began gnawing at her, and she looked towards the ice._

_As expected, Chloe and Max were there, skating alongside Kate, teaching the kids the basics with enthusiasm._

_'Did I have enough coffee this morning?' she thought. She looked back at the stand. 'Nope, still there.'_

_Rachel sat there, stunned. Several minutes passed._

_'Well, I guess there's only one way to find out if this is a dream or if I've snapped.' she thought with slight hysteria, grabbing her cane and going back through the stadium..._

Chloe hid her face in her hands as Rachel finished, while Max took one of Rachel's hands again in sympathy.

Afterwards, Max glanced at the cane. "You were a skater yourself, I'm guessing?"

A nod was her answer. "Yeah... " Rachel said, sighing. "It's hard, sometimes... but the joy people get from my training is as good, if not better than doing it myself," she finished with a wide smile. "Especially you two nerds; you're my finest, you know? And I don't just say that as the BFF."

Max and Chloe leaned over and took Rachel's hand together, squeezing it. They continued watching the lessons in silence, enjoying the sight of the magnificent dancing.

The show was nearing its end, and Rachel started getting up. "I should go back there. Are you... gonna stick around?" she asked.

They shook their heads. "We should get going... We still have lots of places to visit, after all. An endless number, in fact," Chloe said, smiling. "It was nice to meet you." Max nodded her agreement.

Rachel chuckled. "It was certainly exciting, if nothing else," she said, and glanced towards Max's twitching hands. She groaned. "Oh no... I know that tic; are you a photo nerd like my Max is?"

Chloe snorted. "Understatement of the century," she said with great mirth.

Max blushed, taking out her camera from her backpack. "Can we take a picture with you?" she asked sheepishly.

Rachel huffed. "Of course," she said, going to stand between them.

Max bounced slightly as she lifted the camera towards themselves. After taking two pictures, she marked them as usual and offered one to Rachel, whose eyes widened in wonder.

"You're... giving one to me?" she asked, slightly stunned.

"Well, yeah. It's not a very good experience if its one-sided, is it?" Max said.

"But... I'll need to hide it and-"

"Don't worry about it; you can let those who you trust see it." Chloe said comfortingly, then added a wink. "Preferably our other selves. Wink wink, nudge nudge!" she said teasingly.

Rachel slowly took the photo, and held it gingerly in her hands. She looked up at Max and Chloe, smiling. "Thank you. I... I wish you two luck, wherever you go after this." she said.

Max and Chloe hugged her tightly, holding her for a minute.

"Alright... we really should go." Max said. "Take care, alright?"

Chloe gave Rachel one last squeeze before letting go. "See you... oh, and by the way!" she exclaimed. "If you need help with us... er, them, being oblivious, just remind them of our 'Buccaneer's oath'. They'll know what it means." she said with a wink. Then she frowned... "Err, _if_ that's happened here, too, that is... hm."

Max took Chloe's hand, rolling her eyes fondly. "Come on, Ms. Matchmaker; time to go," she said, opening another hole in space-time.

Chloe nodded, flashing Rachel a thumbs up, and went through the hole with Max, disappearing.

Rachel started for a bit at the patch of empty air that just housed two individuals whose existence defied conventional science. She heaved a great sigh. "It's one of _those_ days..." she muttered to herself on her way back.

* * *

 

_A few hours later..._

"... and she was smiling so brightly I can't even- Rachel? Are you listening?" Chloe rambled.

Rachel sighed and sipped her increasingly-cold tea. "Yes, Chloe... Max was being her adorable self again and you're questioning your entire existence because of her for the hundredth time," she said exasperatedly. "How about you just ask her out already? Sheesh..."

"But... but... she probably doesn't even like me that way, and what if this affects our teamwork by going south and-"

"Chloe!" Rachel interrupted her friend's rambling yet again. "Alright... I'm going to say something and you tell me if it rings a bell," she said. It was going to be a risk, listening to the other Chloe, but Rachel was willing to give it a shot if it meant getting these idiots to stop their mutual pining; it was honestly getting frustrating!

Chloe blinked at Rachel, but nodded her assent.

"Does the phrase 'Buccaneer's oath' mean anything to you?"

Chloe froze as a memory broke free from the deepest recesses of her brain, where everything before September 2008 was stored and put under lock and key.

_"...well, we'll just have to swear... THE 'BUCCANEER'S OATH'!" Chloe exclaimed, holding her wooden sword solemnly and with one leg planted on a sand pile._

_"What's that, Chloe?" Max asked curiously, adjusting her eyepatch and brushing away some beach sand._

_"It means that, as Captain and First Mate, we will always be together, even if the vast seas separate us!" Chloe said. "It's a bond of partnership as deep as the ocean!"_

_Max giggled. "Well then of course we'll do it!" she said. "Coach me!"_

_And so, after a bit of practice, they said the words; holding each other's hands and hugging._

_"Now we'll always be together! Yay!" Chloe said._

_Max smiled widely. "Love ya, Captain Chloe!" she said, hugging Chloe tighter._

_"Love ya too, First Mate Caulfield," Chloe said, reciprocating. "Let the sea be our witness!" she said, turning to the vast ocean..._

Chloe shook her head, getting back to the present. She looked solemnly at Rachel. "Yes. Yes, it does mean something," she whispered. Chloe took a deep breath. "It's... a good reminder. Did Max tell you about it?"

Rachel shook her head, confusing Chloe. "Huh? Then how-" Chloe began, but was interrupted.

"You did, Priceless." Rachel said, smirking.

Chloe looked befuddled. "Was it during one of my drunken evenings here? I don't remember ever telling you about..." Chloe looked away for a second, eyes distant. "... about anything from back then," she said quietly.

Rachel shook her head again. "Don't worry about it, Chloe," she said. She bit her lip slightly, thoughtful. "I'll... tell you later."

Chloe now looked at Rachel with a narrowed gaze. "You're hiding something, Rach," she said.

A nod. "Yep. And I'll tell you later, alright?" she said with a pleading gaze. "It's something that Max should hear too."

Now thoroughly confused, Chloe nodded hesitatingly. She then got up to make some more tea, leaving Rachel alone on the couch.

Rachel gazed at Chloe, and put her hand into one of her pockets. She took out the photo and gazed at the writing.

_'Universe #4: Thank you, Rachel, for the not-tour. <3 All the best from Max Caulfield and Chloe Price'_

_'Thank you again, you two. Live long and prosper, and all that jazz,'_ she thought to herself with a smile. _'Hah, I hope these two won't faint when I explain...'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Bad? Average? Good?  
> I hope everyone liked it! It certainly felt good to be able to write semi-quickly again. :p <3


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